Conor McGregor has responded after Ilia Topuria called him out following the conclusion of UFC 298.
Georgian fighter Topuria, who was born in Germany, has won all 15 of his professional fights to date, with five of those coming via knockout and eight via submission.
But his most impressive win was at UFC 298 on Sunday, where he knocked out reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski to win the UFC Featherweight Championship for the first time in his career.
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Topuria's rise to the top of the sport has been likened to McGregor - and he channelled the Irishman when snatching the belt away from Volkanovski in their pre-fight press conference.
In the end, that move would only serve to foreshadow what would actually happen in Anaheim on Saturday night.
Ahead of the fight, McGregor predicted that Volkanovski would 'get hurt early', but then rally to win by knockout in the second round. In the end, the opposite result happened.
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And after the fight, Topuria directly called out McGregor for a future fight, stating: "And Conor McGregor, if you still have some balls, I will be waiting for you in Spain."
'Notorious' hasn't stepped inside the UFC cage since breaking his ankle in the first round of his July 2021 fight against Dustin Poirier, forcing a doctor's stoppage.
McGregor has been training for a comeback, and while we don't yet know when he will officially return, UFC president Dana White says that the shin bone injury, acting commitments and - simply - money are all slowing down his return.
But the Irishman did respond to Topuria's call out on Instagram, sending a sharp seven-word message: "I have huge balls, I've four kids."
In his post-fight press conference, the Georgian reiterated his desire to face off against McGregor: "Who said I want to fight him at 145lb?
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"Without any weight limit. There are no weights if I fight him. He can choose it, I give him that option.
"If he feels ready for this level of competition, he can choose the weight. I choose the place."
Topics: Conor McGregor, UFC, Dana White
Ryan Smart